Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon
Over the past 50 years, the space race has potentially grown due to the development of sophisticated mechatronic systems. One of the most important is the bio-inspired mobile-planetary robots, actually for which there is no reported one that currently works physically on the Moon. Nonetheless, signi...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Biomimetics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/11/693 |
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| author | José Cornejo Cecilia E. García Cena José Baca |
| author_facet | José Cornejo Cecilia E. García Cena José Baca |
| author_sort | José Cornejo |
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| description | Over the past 50 years, the space race has potentially grown due to the development of sophisticated mechatronic systems. One of the most important is the bio-inspired mobile-planetary robots, actually for which there is no reported one that currently works physically on the Moon. Nonetheless, significant progress has been made to design biomimetic systems based on animal morphology adapted to sand (granular material) to test them in analog planetary environments, such as regolith simulants. Biomimetics and bio-inspired attributes contribute significantly to advancements across various industries by incorporating features from biological organisms, including autonomy, intelligence, adaptability, energy efficiency, self-repair, robustness, lightweight construction, and digging capabilities-all crucial for space systems. This study includes a scoping review, as of July 2024, focused on the design of animal-inspired robotic hardware for planetary exploration, supported by a bibliometric analysis of 482 papers indexed in Scopus. It also involves the classification and comparison of limbed and limbless animal-inspired robotic systems adapted for movement in soil and sand (locomotion methods such as grabbing-pushing, wriggling, undulating, and rolling) where the most published robots are inspired by worms, moles, snakes, lizards, crabs, and spiders. As a result of this research, this work presents a pioneering methodology for designing bio-inspired robots, justifying the application of biological morphologies for subsurface or surface lunar exploration. By highlighting the technical features of actuators, sensors, and mechanisms, this approach demonstrates the potential for advancing space robotics, by designing biomechatronic systems that mimic animal characteristics. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2313-7673 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Biomimetics |
| spelling | doaj-art-6ef7ef905fa34e3f9956dadd76ccbc7e2025-08-20T02:08:08ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732024-11-0191169310.3390/biomimetics9110693Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the MoonJosé Cornejo0Cecilia E. García Cena1José Baca2Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Diseño Industrial, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ronda de Valencia, 3, 28012 Madrid, SpainEscuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Diseño Industrial, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ronda de Valencia, 3, 28012 Madrid, SpainEscuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Diseño Industrial, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ronda de Valencia, 3, 28012 Madrid, SpainOver the past 50 years, the space race has potentially grown due to the development of sophisticated mechatronic systems. One of the most important is the bio-inspired mobile-planetary robots, actually for which there is no reported one that currently works physically on the Moon. Nonetheless, significant progress has been made to design biomimetic systems based on animal morphology adapted to sand (granular material) to test them in analog planetary environments, such as regolith simulants. Biomimetics and bio-inspired attributes contribute significantly to advancements across various industries by incorporating features from biological organisms, including autonomy, intelligence, adaptability, energy efficiency, self-repair, robustness, lightweight construction, and digging capabilities-all crucial for space systems. This study includes a scoping review, as of July 2024, focused on the design of animal-inspired robotic hardware for planetary exploration, supported by a bibliometric analysis of 482 papers indexed in Scopus. It also involves the classification and comparison of limbed and limbless animal-inspired robotic systems adapted for movement in soil and sand (locomotion methods such as grabbing-pushing, wriggling, undulating, and rolling) where the most published robots are inspired by worms, moles, snakes, lizards, crabs, and spiders. As a result of this research, this work presents a pioneering methodology for designing bio-inspired robots, justifying the application of biological morphologies for subsurface or surface lunar exploration. By highlighting the technical features of actuators, sensors, and mechanisms, this approach demonstrates the potential for advancing space robotics, by designing biomechatronic systems that mimic animal characteristics.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/11/693aerospace roboticsbio-inspired systemsspace explorationISRUmoon |
| spellingShingle | José Cornejo Cecilia E. García Cena José Baca Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon Biomimetics aerospace robotics bio-inspired systems space exploration ISRU moon |
| title | Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon |
| title_full | Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon |
| title_fullStr | Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon |
| title_short | Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon |
| title_sort | animal morphing bio inspired mechatronic systems research framework in robot design to enhance interplanetary exploration on the moon |
| topic | aerospace robotics bio-inspired systems space exploration ISRU moon |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/11/693 |
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